Wednesday, June 14, 2006

A Few Good Men

There's nothing I hate more than people who are too stupid to realize that Jack Nicholson's character in A Few Good Menwas the bad guy. He declared himself a law unto himself, and that's not what America wants, it's not what we should want, and it damn sure isn't what we need.

The movie does consist of more than Nicholson testifying. It begins with someone being killed in a homophobic hazing ritual, and ends with his killers and their commanding officers being convicted, and with Tom Cruise's character realizing that the law isn't just a game, that the ideals of America are protected not just on the fences of Guantanamo Bay, but in the courtrooms and voting booths of America.

When a squad of Marines opened fire at women and children at close range, when they exacted retribution on non-combatant civilians for an IED attack, they tarnished their own reputations, the uniforms they wear, and the flag sewn onto it. Obviously, most Marines are not committing atrocities, they're working hard to make Iraq better. But the Marines have also shown disdain for the softer approach that Army troops took in areas like Haditha, and are known as "the most aggressive close quarter troops the Americans have." The wages of such aggressive tactics are the occasional massacre, and the attendant dishonor to the entire nation.